Truth
by Lady Sorciere
Summary: At the end of his life, a cat returns to the tribe to reveal the truth.


Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Cats or any characters from it.

Be warned, this is definitely an AU fic.

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A hoarse cough interrupted the tense silence.

"So you really are sick?"

"I'm not a liar. I'm not -" a pause, uncertain hesitation, "I'm not who you think I am."

Sneering laughter. "You expect me to believe that? I've seen enough to know that you are exactly who I think you are, _brother_." The word was infused with scorn and hatred.

Another hoarse cough. "Will you hear me out?"

Eyes met, held for a long second. Finally, a nod. "Go on then."

The mystery cat eased his way into a sitting position and took several ragged breaths. He looked up at the Jellicle leader, his brother, and hesitated again. This news - the truth - would not be taken well. But it had to be done; they had to know. Only then could he die in peace.

"You all think that I'm wicked. That I live only to terrorize you. Have you ever thought about how egotistical that is? Why would anyone spend a lifetime tormenting his own family?"

"You hate us." The statement was perhaps slightly less sure than it would have been before Macavity's statement.

Perhaps things would go better than he originally thought.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning." He stopped as another cough shook his frame. He had to hurry; his death was imminent. He'd put this off for far too long but it was hard to return to the family he'd once had. It was not easy, trying to help them after he'd only received hatred from them. "You know I was one of the ones born with . . . Special powers."

If only they would realize that they all had something special, out of the ordinary, about them. The little white dancer? The girl with the crystalline voice? Did they truly think that was normal?

"It is not easy, having magical powers. You can never let your guard down because at any minute you can lose yourself. Some of the lucky ones can split their personalities, almost." His own son did that and lived quite happily with the Jellicles. "I could not and so I was kept isolated. I hated my life, my powers, even the Everlasting Cat. Until I met her."

The moment he saw her, he'd fallen head over heels. She was not beautiful like some of the others but she was breathtaking. And she hadn't shied away or rejected him. She found his powers fascinating. "For the first time in my life, I could be myself. I'd found my soul mate and I knew that around her, I'd never lose myself."

Munkustrap was hissing and snarling because of course, he knew exactly who Macavity was talking about. The hidden paw almost smiled when he thought about how the truth would affect his brother.

"No matter what you think, Munkustrap, I truly loved her." He stopped again to catch his breath and re-order his thoughts. "She sympathized with me over my predicament and my desire to make a real life for myself. She loved me. One day, we were talking about how things could be if magical cats were accepted and not despised and she said if I ran the tribe, then things would be perfect."

"And that's when you changed. When you got it into your head that you'd be the perfect leader." Munkustrap spat, practically shooting daggers from his eyes.

They never listened. "Did you not hear me? She told me. _She_ wanted me to be the leader." He closed his eyes, remembering. It had been a giddy feeling, knowing that she thought he could be a leader. Her belief in him was stronger than any drug he'd ever had. "We began making plans. It took me time to realize that she was getting much more serious about this. My idea was simply to stage a coup. No death, no blood. She told me it would be impossible and that at the very least, the old cat had to die." He could remember when she first suggested that, too. It had frightened him. "I told her I needed to think and she said we could run away, learn how to use my powers and come back to finish our plans. And that is why she vanished for that time."

Munkustrap was shaking his head, disbelief apparent in every line of his body. He would never think that _she_ was possible of something like that.

"It's the truth, brother. She dragged her sister along; even then, she must have thought that I would change my mind. And I did. I didn't want to do it any longer. I just wanted to live peacefully. She changed over night." He could remember the tantrums, the screams, the tears. It had hurt him but he knew that her plan was wrong. "She left me in the night and returned to you. The story she told you was a lie. I never harmed her or her sister. I don't know how she convinced her sister that I did but she must have some power that we were not aware of. And of course, when I tried to return, I was driven away."

"No. Not _her. _Not Demeter." Munkustrap shook his head stubbornly. Macavity knew it was time to bring out the most convincing evidence.

"Since you became the leader, things have gone badly." It was a simple statement but his brother flinched away. "And she is your primary counsellor."

He could practically see the light come on in his brother's eyes. "I know it is hard to accept, Munkustrap, but Demeter is the wicked one here. All those crimes? I had nothing to do with them. If you had accepted Grizabella, she would have told you the same thing."

Grizabella had surprised him. The glamour cat had come seeking him for she didn't believe the stories that he had gone bad. She listened to his side of the story and realized it was the truth then chose to stay with him. They fell in love, even while Demeter was there trying to convince him to follow her plan. He and Grizabella had hoped to start a family but Demeter had stolen their only child. Macavity was glad that his son had been able to grow up happily though he did regret that Mistoffelees had been taken from him.

"Heaviside . . ." Munkustrap put a hand over his eyes. "You are telling the truth, aren't you?"

Macavity nodded then was wracked with another cough. "I don't have much time, brother. You have to stop her or she'll ruin you all."

"Rest, Mac." The kittenhood nickname brought a smile to the dying cat's face. "We can heal you and you'll stay with us again."

"No, Munk. I am dying but it's fine. I've lived a good life, a happy life and I'm ready to go on." He struggled for breath.

"Everlasting Cat, please take this worthy one's soul to Heaviside." Munk whispered. Mac smiled again. He was forgiven - he was at peace. He'd accomplished his goals.

"I waited for you." The glamour cat materialized in front of him, young and beautiful again. She held out a graceful hand and Mac took it, feeling the years, the sickness, the sorrow, all melt away. He took one last look at his brother, now broken and sorrowful, then followed his love to paradise.

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AN: Well . . . I don't remember know this came from exactly. I do remember thinking _What if Demeter was the bad one and Mac was just a victim of lies and stuff? _And then this idea was born. I guess. I have a little world of families and history for the Jellicles and everything from my storyline and the movie is the same. The only thing changed is that Demeter was the villain and Mac was falsely accused. I hope you enjoyed this and please review. It makes me happy.

PS: Sorry if it doesn't make sense. I sort of meant for it to be confusing.


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